Chopin 4 Ballades, Barcarole and Impromptus
Alexander Boyd
Claudio CR6047-2
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Pianist Alexander Boyd, scion of the amazingly prolific and talented Boyd family, has broken away from the fascination with and love of Spanish piano composition that dominated his past three recordings to share with us his lifelong love of Chopin. Playing Chopin well is not easy at the best of times and in this CD Alexander has set himself a tough musical obstacle course, which he manages to navigate with apparent ease. Chopin’s four ballades are about as complicated as was the composer’s mind, but happily Boyd doesn’t fall into the trap that Russian pianist Anton Rubenstein did when he played them in concert in 1885, resulting in one German critic describing him as “a musician who rushed and raved”, adding that “a slight want of polish was the natural result”. These ballades, like the barcarolle and the two impromptus that follow them, are impeccably paced and imbued with great feeling and sensitivity in the gentle parts and a degree of savagery when Chopin lets his emotions run away with him. After two albums of Albeniz and one of Granados, this offering from Boyd is a wonderful New Year’s gift.

— Michael Morton-Evans